2026 TRACK RACING SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A BANG!

The KW Cycling Academy Track squad began the 2026 race season on Saturday, November 29 at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, and what a start it was! Our kids were super competitive in the preliminary events, indicating that our training program is enabling our racers to force the pace in all the categories during the 4 hours of racing. 

KWCA Athletes
Euan Bingham, Joey Alverez, Evan Bennett, Addison Marcynuk, Ash Everton, Jacob Kemper, Henry Weigel, Sheldon Drewitt & Jaxson van den Bosch

The featured event was the Akuna Cup, a yearly Keirin event honouring Kelyn Akuna, an advocate for track cycling, former US National Champion, and builder of the Milton cycling community. The Keirin is a multi-heat, multi-round track event where 6 athletes are motor paced up to 50 km/h, and then it's a sprint to the finish. Sheldon & Jaxson had nice qualifying heat races, with Sheldon qualifying into the Little Final, and finishing 7th overall in the final results. Jaxson advanced to the Big Final, and it was a barn burner!  

Six athletes looked tense as the motor brought them up to speed. When the pacer pulled off the track with three laps to go, the riders immediately began jockeying for position. With two laps remaining, one of the Elite Pros launched an attack and quickly opened a solid gap on the other five. But 500 meters is a long way to hold a lead this early in the season. He was caught just as the bell rang for the final lap, signalling that a new champion was about to be crowned. Jaxson VDB showed impressive patience. As the group exited turn two, he unleashed a powerful move, jumping from fourth place to challenge for the lead. He had to come over the top— the hardest attack to time correctly. In the final corner, the two riders beneath him cracked, allowing Jaxson to carry his speed to the line and claim his first win of the season.

Congratulations to all competitors!